And now she wanted Clay.
But he wanted me.
No wonder she was acting extra bitchy. Girls like her were smart. They only perpetrated girl on girl crime when there were no boys around. So she must be hella pissed to be doing it in front of Clay.
There was something kind of amazing about that. Poetic justice or something. I suddenly felt a lot better.
I smiled at her with false charm.
“Oh, I’m sorry did you need a towel as well?”
I handed her one and turned away.
I knew that she heard what I really meant to say.
Something along the lines of ‘go fuck yourself bitch.”
I walked back to the staff locker room in search of something to clean my shorts with.
“Oh man, one of the kids get you?”
In front of me was a very tan, very built, very cute guy. Scratch that. A man.
This guy was definitely a man.
He grinned at me, his eyes flicking to my shorts.
“Chocolate ice cream?”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. This day was going so badly, the only thing I could do was laugh.
“Hey, don’t sweat it. I can get you club soda. And they always have extra uniforms in here.”
I smiled at him gratefully as he led the way through the subterranean hallways below the club.
“Thanks. I’m Nev.”
He looked at me sideways.
“Yeah, I know. I’m Matt.”
“How did you know?”
He turned around and smiled at me cheekily. This guy clearly knew he was hot. And he was definitely flirting with me.
“I asked.”
He opened a door and led me into the kitchen. Two minutes later he was attempting to blot my shorts with club soda. I jumped backward. That was way too familiar, even if I had known him. Which I did not.
The way he was looking at me, touching me… The whole thing was making me nervous. No matter how sweet and cute he was.
And he was cute. Very cute. Not drop dead gorgeous like Clay, but definitely drool worthy. But for some reason, I wasn’t drooling.
“Thanks, Matt. I got this.”
“Hey ,no problem.”
He stood there and watched me dab at my shorts. It did take the stain down but not enough. I kind of was wishing he’d go away. I felt like such a dork. Plus, the way he was watching me was unnerving.
“There’s a party tonight. Down by the lake. I’ll take you if you are free.”
I threw the napkin in the trash in disgust. I definitely needed new shorts. Way to go, Nev.
“Huh?”
“Tonight. Lake. Party. I’m driving.”
He grinned at me winningly.
“It’s a bit far to bike. You don’t have a car do you? Plus, this way you can drink.”
Wow. He really had been checking up on me. I should be flattered but for some reason I kind of wasn’t.
“Oh right, I heard about that. I was maybe going to go with my friend.”
He leaned against the counter and stared at me intently.
“Boyfriend?”
I shook my head and he smiled even wider.
“I can drive you both.”
“Uh… let me check with her. Otherwise, maybe I’ll just see you there?”
“Sure. Let me get your number just in case.”
“Right, okay.”
I gave him my number and he pointed me back towards the locker rooms and told me where to find the laundry. I kind of wondered why he hadn’t just done that in the first place. I shrugged.
He was obviously trying to be helpful.
That was all, right?
Chapter Seventeen
Clay
I nodded to people as I sat on the hood of my car drinking. The lake was packed with kids. At least half of them probably still in high school.
Of course, they all knew who I was. I just sat there while people came to me. I used to like it when people kissed my ass. But now I found it all kind of boring.
I needed to do something more with my fucking life than just being the king of shit. I’d always thought I’d go into business like my father. Or law. Maybe politics eventually.
But my father wasn’t happy no matter how rich and successful he was. Look at him. He was in love with a woman from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak. A woman who was not his wife. Not from his world at all.
Not that I was anyone to talk.
Fuck man, did I just use the word ‘love’ about Nevada?
I did. I fucking did.
This was not good.
I hadn’t even bagged the girl yet and I was thinking long term.
Never mind the fact that Nev was going to freak out when she found out about our parents.
I had to get to her before she did. Otherwise, she’d never give me the time of day. She’d say it was all too incestuous. Maybe it was. But I needed her.
That was a scary ass thought.
I hadn’t needed anyone since I was a scared little kid who wanted his mother in the middle of the night. I’d outgrown that well before other kids my age did. I’d had to because my mother fucking died when I was still that needy little kid. And now I needed this girl. This tough, sweet, earnest, hard working young girl who didn’t know shit about men. Or sex.